At # 22 on our countdown, we take you deep in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village in the year of 1935. It tells the tale of 2 sisters from Ohio with big aspirations and dreams…. One sister is witty, awkward, and very resourceful with determination of being a writer. The other is that sweet, adorable, optimistic, and dreamy girl who wants to become an actress. This is their life in that…. Wonderful Town. The show features a legendary score by Leonard Bernstein along with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It features a book Joseph A. Fields’s and Jerome Chodorov adapted from their real life previous play entitled MY SISTER EILEEN (which came based off of real life stories from the musical’s real-life character Ruth McKenney).

From the 2004 NBC Telecast, Brooke Shields as the witty and knowledgeable “Ruth McKenney” gets a side job promoting one of the hottest night clubs in Greenwich Village getting the company introduced to the latest jazz rage of them all. Here they are performing the toe-tapping SWING.

WONDERFUL TOWN had its world premiere run in 1952 in Philadelphia at the Forrest Theatre. Just several months later, heading into the following year of 1953, it premiered at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre where it ran for 559 performances. Under the direction of George Abbott and choreographed by Donald Saddler, the cast was led by….

Rosalind Russell (later Carol Channing) as “Ruth Sherwood”,

Edie Adams as “Eileen Sherwood”,

George Gaynes as “Robert “Bob” Baker”,

Cris Alexander as “Frank Lippencott”,

And more.

It was nominated and won 5 all of its Tony categories that year including BEST MUSICAL, BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL (for Rosalind Russell), and BEST CHOREOGRAPHY (for Donald Saddler). In addition, Edie Adams was the recipient for the Theatre World Awards.

With the success of its Broadway run, the show would go on to debut overseas a year later in London’s West End playing the Prince’s Theatre (now the Shaftesbury Theatre) for only 207 performances. Interestingly, when it was revived there in 1983, it ran for over a year getting an Olivier Awards nomination as BEST NEW MUSICAL (even though it’s mainly considered as revival). However, it lost the category.

WONDERFUL TOWN would find its way back to the Big Apple in 2000. It originally was performed as a semi-staged concert production at New York City Center part of its ENCORES series. The production did so well, it took the creative team 2 years to expand the staging into a full length production marking it as the first Broadway revival. This Broadway transfer would not happen until 2003 playing the Al Hirschfeld Theatre for 16 previews and 497 regular performances. Under the direction and choreography by Kathleen Marshall, this revival cast was led by…

Donna Murphy (later Brooke Shields) as “Ruth Sherwood”,

Jennifer Westfield (later Jennifer Hope Wills) as “Eileen Sherwood”,

Greg Edelman as “Robert “Bob” Baker”,

Peter Benson as “Frank Lippencott”,

And more.

This revival of WONDERFUL TOWN was nominated for 4 Tony Awards including BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL, It would only go on to win for BEST CHOREOGRAPHY (for Kathleen Marshall), It also received several Drama Desk Award wins including OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS (for Donna Murphy). Plus, Jennifer Westfield was the recipient for the Theatre World Award.

Along with its success on stage, WONDERFUL TOWN was only captured on camera once. In 1958, the musical was made into a live televised production on CBS. Under the direction of Mel Herbert plus staying true to the original stage production’s creative team, this cast was led by….

Rosalind Russell reprising her performance as “Ruth Sherwood”,

Jacquelyn McKeever as “Eileen Sherwood”,

Sydney Chaplin as “Robert “Bob” Baker”,

Cris Alexander reprising his performance as “Frank Lippencott”,

And more.

Today, WONDERFUL TOWN continues to be played around the world in schools, community, and regional theaters everywhere.

How jazzy was that performance?!!!

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